Running in Place
by justamirror
Summary: ON HIATUIS He ground his hands deeper into its pulpy flesh; his mind began to clear and the reality of his situation set in. He would never have enough. And it would destroy him. He could try to run, but it would never work." AU,Mature, ExB, mayb
1. Chapter 1

_**Running in Place**_

CHAPTER 1

He was lying, still, on the thick taupe carpet covering the floor of his third story perch on the fringe of forest, arms spread, eyes vacant. The amber afternoon sun slanted through the floor to ceiling windows on the west side of the room, illuminating the confetti of particulates suspended above his motionless corpse, no breath disturbing their progress through the air.

_A corpse_. A walking, thirsting, talking, thinking, corpse. Never aging, never sleeping, never crying, never bleeding. So he continued to lie there silently, still, the sun sinking lower in the sky, with only the sounds of the living for company. Wishing he could just stay where he was, still, dead, and not the horror story monster he truly was. _Being a corpse would be better_.

The crickets and frogs dwelling in the wide meadow between the house and the river had begun their twilight songs, calling out to one another in the fading sunlight, a living symphony, a growing hum, signifying the end of another day, and taunting him out of his motionless fantasy. He listened to the sounds of two deer, slowly grazing their way through the tall swishing grasses by the water's edge.

He swallowed the puddle of venomous saliva that had collected at the back of his mouth during the three hours he had spent motionless on the floor, the movement of his throat piercing the stillness of the scene. No longer delaying the inevitable, he took a breath, tasting the air around him. Springing to his feet and leaping out of the window into the cool evening air, he gracefully ghosted the riverbed, his quiet progress undetectable in the cacophony of life around him, not stopping until his teeth pierced the rough skin at the neck of the doe who had not noticed his appearance while she drank at the bank of the river. As her blood spilled into his mouth, her partner in the twilight, a large buck, wheeled off toward the trees. But Edward would find him later, not willing to leave him without his mate.

Alone. Hands moving rapidly over the keys of his piano, he drowned out the sounds of the now late night outside.

* * *

"Alice." His affectionate tone was slightly strained with the apprehension he couldn't help but feel when she called unexpectedly that morning. Unexpected phone calls from Alice usually preceded unanticipated events.

"Edward! I'll be there in an hour, don't argue. I'll just end up convincing you anyway. I'm coming to stay with you for a visit while Jasper is taking an emotional sabbatical in the Himalayas. I love him but I can't spend an entire month with just him and the yaks. You know me, I can't handle living in a place where the only contingency to plan for is….well there are no contingencies to plan for up there. See what I mean? I'd drive him absolutely crazy, anyway, which would kind of defeat the purpose of going there in the first place. I know you want your space right now but…"

"Alice. It's fine, I would actually appreciate the company."

"I knew you would, can't wait to see you, I'm passing through Seattle as we speak."

Edward's lips twisted into a reluctant grin as he slipped his phone into the front pocket of his jeans. He clasped his hands behind his head, cradling it above the earth, staring blankly up at the heavens. Spending time with Alice would be a welcome distraction. Her mind was so busy churning out possibilities that it was nearly impossible to be near her without feeling at least a little inspired. And he needed to be inspired. He had been acting like a child, sulking on his bedroom floor, pounding on his piano keys morosely, avoiding the life outside his doors.

He had come to the home in Washington six months ago, under the pretense of needing solitude to work on his music. But really, Edward had been running. Away from or toward something, it didn't matter, but he needed to run to break the suffocating stillness that threatened his sanity. He grimly reflected on the last time he had run off on his own, nearly 70 years before, and the familiar burn in the back of his throat, rising like bile, intensified. _Yes. It would be good to spend some time with Alice_. Isolation had a dehumanizing effect on him, he knew. He would never let it go that far again, better just to end it all, somehow, than take another human life.

For the better part of a century he had been beating back the encroaching demon, filling his endless days with hobbies and trivia, and role-playing the model son and brother in a family of misfits. Creating music had been particularly helpful at keeping him occupied, but it had been over twenty-five years since he had composed anything inspired--when Alice and Jasper had first come to them, he recalled.

His thoughts drifted toward Carlisle, his father figure of sorts, his wife Esme, and the other couple in their household, Rosalie and Emmett. He loved them, missed them, and needed them as they needed him. But during the months leading up to his departure from their homestead in Alaska he had become so restless and agitated that he feared he would do something reckless, reckless enough to put himself and everyone close to him in danger. Alice had seen it, and it terrified him.

So, the only choice left had been to run. But lately it seemed like maybe he was just running in place.

Pulling himself up from the damp ground where he had been sprawled that morning, he looked up at the surprisingly cloudless sky, tinged pink with the impending sunrise, and then back down at his bare arms, noting the faint luminescence that emerged as the early morning light washed over his skin. There were no people around for miles, but to be safe, Edward began his way back to the house before the rising sun revealed the sparkling freak show that he was. _Best not to keep Alice waiting._

* * *

"It hasn't really helped, has it?" Alice gazed up at him from her perch on the porch steps. Her thoughts relayed pictures of him over the last six months, in various states of ennui.

"You would know." He rubbed his right hand over the back of his neck, grinning down at her. It was good to see her. She showed him an image in her mind of them sparkling in the sunlight on the rooftop deck. _Shall we?_ He extended his left arm down to her, taking her hand and leading her into the house. _Missed you_. She gave his hand a squeeze.

"Me too, Alice".

* * *

Alice was languidly reclined against the white railing surrounding the rooftop deck of the house, her skin mimicking the sunlight dancing on the river behind her, her head tilted back into the breeze tickling the needles of the ancient redwoods bordering their property. Edward was once again on his back, on the ground at her feet, his eyes closed to the sun directly overhead.

"You know, everyone is surprised Tanya didn't come with you. " Alice's thoughts showed him being ferociously kissed by a statuesque strawberry blond woman, their bodies pressed up against a granite cliff face, his hands clasping her hips to his.

"What, you didn't see what happened next?" Edward grimaced.

"I tried not to _look_….but I saw you leaving, alone."

Edward sighed. "Yes. Well, I'm pretty sure Tanya has gotten over it. She thinks I'm impotent." He laughed darkly. Alice's eyes widened in amusement.

"That explains it!" Her mind flitted to an image of Tanya gazing at him with a mixture of pity and revulsion. _So that's why she finally laid off._ _Wait, he's not actually…that's not even possible for vampires…is it?_ Edward groaned. _Of course not, sorry. _Her thoughts flashed to a memory involving a mortified Edward, a bottle of lubricant, and…

Edward let out an indignant huff, opening his tawny eyes to glare up at her. _Gah! Thinking of something else now. Sorry Edward!!!_Alice sheepishly smiled at him, sprung up onto the balcony railing and began gracefully turning pirouettes in time with the song now occupying most of her thoughts.

Edward rolled onto his stomach in reptilian fashion, letting the warmth of the sun-warmed deck seep into his cold skin. He buried his face in the crook of his elbow, trying to force the memory of his last moments with Tanya out of his brain. _Not working._They had been hunting a pack of wolves together--challenging prey, something to entertain themselves with. He had agreed to go with her at the last minute, having already decided to leave Alaska to spend the rest of the summer on his own. He and Tanya had taken the whole pack down, losing themselves in a primal haze of predatory aggression. Tanya had viciously taken the alpha down last, draining it dry and tossing its russet colored carcass at his feet. His eyes instinctively locked with hers. She crashed into him, her thoughts replaying the look in his eyes, territorial desire burning through them as he licked his lower lip. _You want me, so have me._ They moaned heavily into each other's mouths, her weight slamming his willing body against the rough cliff face.

It lasted about ten seconds before one thousand years worth of her sexual conquests began flashing through her mind, one sordid encounter after another. She roughly grasped him through his pants. _Wonder if he's as large as Carlisle_. He went limp immediately. He'd pushed her off, with apologies, and she had taken pity on him. In their 80 years of acquaintance, he'd always managed to avoid her advances, and now she thought she knew why. He let her believe whatever she wanted, manners prevented him from telling her outright that she generally repulsed him. Truthfully, Edward wouldn't mind fucking Tanya, and he might have enjoyed it, if only he could somehow shut her mind off in the process. He had yet to meet a woman or man whose thoughts weren't an immediate turn-off, and he couldn't shut them out. At least having unrestricted access to the thoughts of humans and vampires around him had provided him with an infinite stash of pornography. Not that he tapped into it _too_ often.

"Edward, you've got too much time on your hands." Alice smirked and skipped across the deck, sitting cross-legged beside him. "But, I have a plan." Edward groaned, hiding his reluctant smile from her view above him, as images of the possible future flashed through her thoughts. It was good to see her, not that he'd ever let her know.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Standard Disclaimers apply. Would love to hear from any of you. I'll keep writing even if I don't :) This has been edited for your reading pleasure. Sorry for the fakeout. It's my first story so I'm learning as I go.**

Chapter 2

It was twilight again. The sun was setting beyond the river, its waning light creating a lavender glow on the horizon, as Edward and Alice whispered through the woods. The winter constellations winked at them through the moving canopy of wispy vapors overhead. Venus was almost at her brightest.

In his solitude, Edward had mostly lost track of the date, only vaguely cognizant of the increasingly shorter days and longer nights. Tonight would be the longest night of the year. Edward suddenly realized that Christmas was only three days away. Three days could seems like a millisecond or a millennium depending on the relative circumstances, but time had been mostly standing still for Edward without the reference point that the company of others provided. He had not only avoided his family for the last six months, but had also avoided people entirely. It was time to change that, he decided.

"Yes! Christmas shopping is a great idea!" Alice delightedly exclaimed as visions of several Seattle storefronts danced in her head.

Edward rolled his eyes and chuckled. "We'll go tonight. Dinner first?".

Alice was off like a shot, her silent taunt trailing behind her. _Last one finished rides bitch!_

* * *

Half an hour and two deer later, Edward sulked in the passenger seat of Alice's yellow Porsche, the tortured sounds of Top 40 music assaulting his ears as they sped down the driveway and on to the highway toward Seattle.

"You may be fast, but I'll always be two steps ahead of you dear Brother! Lighten up, this is going to be fun!". The nails on Alice's left hand were tapping excitedly on the steering wheel, while she shifted into a higher gear with her right.

As Edward watched her bob and sing along to Lady Gaga, he sighed and graciously admitted defeat. He decided to be good natured about losing their little race.

"Alright Alice, but I get to choose the store we visit first."

"Oh Edward! You shouldn't have!" Edward grinned at her reaction to a vision of him purchasing her the latest from Louboutin.

"Maybe I haven't," he teased.

"I'll be good. Promise. You can even DJ the rest of the ride. Here." She handed him her IPod.

"Alice, why do you even bother with touch screens? They don't work with our hands."

"Oh, here, we got these special gloves with e-tips. It's winter anyway."

Edward marveled at the gloves that she tossed at him. It seemed the world _had _been moving forward without him.

He changed the music and slouched into his seat, letting the vibrations of the cars' engine and the loud music take over his heightened senses while he zoned into a sort of meditative trance. It was a trick he learned by necessity when he was a young vampire and had difficulty coping with the unwelcome voices in his head. He found that if he could shift his focus toward his physical senses, he could quiet his mind to some degree. He couldn't shut the voices out completely, but he could compartmentalize them so that they become more like white noise. Over time, he had developed zen-like demeanor that was nearly impossible to ruffle, much to volatile Rosalie's annoyance, and Jasper's chagrin.

Alice's phone chirped with text from Rosalie and Edward's thoughts drifted toward his other sister. She wasn't as complicated as everyone thought she was. Edward knew from her thoughts that she was deeply insecure and felt threatened by Edward's calm control. She was an extrovert, her happiness largely dependent on external validation, while Edward was clearly an introvert. She resented the way he didn't seem to need anyone.

Edward understood where Rosalie was coming from, so it never really bothered him when she tried to push his buttons—and that often enraged her further. He would sometimes play along with her antics, reacting to her barbs just to give her the satisfaction. Jasper, the empath of the family, lacked Edward's telepathic insight and could never understand how Edward could feel such calm, and even mirth, in the face of Rosalie's formidable wrath. Jasper was even more perplexed at the feelings of sincere affection that would flow between Edward and Rosalie during their most explosive arguments.

Edward was struck by how much he had begun to miss his family. Maybe they should all come to Forks for the holiday. He snuck a glance at Alice and probed her thoughts for any visions regarding a family reunion in the near future, but all he was able to glean from her were the various shopping lists she had compiled for their trip.

Before long, they were pulling into a garage in downtown Seattle. They screeched to a halt and Alice lithely jumped out of the Porsche, tossing her keys at a young looking valet.

"I'll know if you've been joyriding in this baby, so you can get that idea out of your pretty little head," she smirked.

"And don't park it next to that dumpster if you want the rest of your tip", Alice commanded as she slipped a fifty dollar bill into his front pocket and ruffled his sandy hair.

Edward chuckled at the valet's bemused thoughts as Alice skipped away toward the exit. Following quickly behind her, Edward pulled a black beanie over his wild auburn hair and stepped into the night. The light from the streetlamps radiated in hazy circles, illuminating the very fine mist of snow falling from the thick clouds that had now resumed their post over the pacific northwest city.

The sidewalks were crowded with last-minute shoppers, their breath escaping their warm bodies like car exhaust. Edward observed them maneuvering around one another in their frenzied rush to purchase forgotten items for holiday parties and gift giving. Edward hadn't been around so many people in quite some time. He was amuzed by the uniquely human urgency their thoughts betrayed, their mortality making their time much more valuable then his.

He and Alice slipped into the pulsing stream of bodies, strolling arm in arm. They admired the white lights that crisscrossed over the tree-lined street while Edward whistled along with Ertha Kitt, whose pleas to Santa floated through the air. Alice's smile stretched from ear to ear as they made their way toward a row of high end boutiques. Edward couldn't help but feel lighter as her thoughts expressed her gratitude toward him for spending some time with her. His family the only reason he had for continuing his existence and he was happy to know that they depended on him at all, even if only for trivial things.

Pausing, Edward smiled down at Alice and tipped his head toward the shop entrance on their right, waggling his eyebrows at her. Alice nodded her head and bounced on her toes in anticipation, grabbing onto his left arm with both hands as he led her inside. The doorman greeted them as they unbuttoned their coats and brushed off the thin layer of snowflakes that dusted their shoulders.

"Have at it Alice, whatever you want."

Alice rubbed her hands together with glee and practically danced over to the severely chic salesgirl who was currently eyeing his button fly from under her sharply arched eyebrows. _Yum. Has a thing for shoes does he? No way he can afford me, he's what, 17? Wouldn't mind teaching him a thing or two... _Edward cleared his throat, interrupting her thoughts and drawing her gaze upward to meet his eyes. He looked pointedly over to Alice who was already mentally trying on each pair of shoes that lined the backlit shelves lining the walls. The salesgirl quickly averted her attention away from Edward and toward Alice, who was impatiently tapping her foot on the marble floor. Turning away, Edward walked over to the front window of the store to look out onto the street. In the reflection of the glass, he could see Alice circuiting the store behind him, rapidly pointing out shoes with instructions on size and color.

He let his gaze wander across the way toward a specialty kitchen supply store. A pale young woman with long brown hair was making her way toward the front of the kitchen store, smiling and bidding goodnight to the tall girl behind the shiny copper checkout counter. Opening the door with a jingle of bells, she stepped out on the street and made her way through the crowd toward a coffee shop three doors down, where Edward's eyes idly followed her until she disappeared out of view.

Looking back towards the kitchen store, Edward decided that he would send Esme a suite of cookware and gadgets for the show kitchen at the Alaska home that she had been renovating. Even though they never used the kitchen for cooking, it would look suspicious if a family with their kind of wealth didn't have the most current gadgetry and appliances.

"Edward, I'm all finished here! I'm having them all delivered to the house tomorrow morning," Alice called from behind him.

He turned and walked over to the salesgirl, pulling his wallet from his coat. "The damage?".

Edward read the girl's thoughts. _He's gonna flip. Whatever, even if they only buy half of what his sister picked out, I'll make enough commission to buy a few pairs for myself._ She handed him a list with a total neatly written at the bottom. Edward counted out ten one-thousand dollar bills and handed them to her. "Keep the change, Merry Christmas." _Holy shit!!! _Edward suppressed a grin as her ice queen veneer cracked and she looked up at him with an awestruck expression.

"We'll deliver them tomorrow. Here's my card if you need _anything_." _Anything._

Edward took her card and handed it to Alice, ignoring the salesgirl's disappointed frown. Alice smirked and slid the card into her jeans pocket. They buttoned their coats up again and headed out into the evening. Edward inhaled deeply as he stepped off of the curb to cross the street and his gait uncharacteristically faltered. His throat tightened and burned and his jaw clenched. Alice caught the expression on his features. _Edward…you look….hungry?_ He shrugged and shook his head slightly.

"I'm fine Alice. Guess I haven't been a crowd for a while, nothing I can't handle." He took another breath and felt reassured. "You can see, nothing to worry about."

"Of course." Alice looked up at him and shrugged as well. Her thoughts swirled to a vision of them purchasing a ridiculously expensive cappuccino maker from the clerk across the way. "Good idea, Esme will love that."

They continued walking, but some of the ease of their evening had worn off. He crossed the street with worry lines creasing his brow and his fists clenched in his pockets. Edward was perplexed by how _appetizing_ the atmosphere had suddenly become. The air felt heavy with the heady aroma and he couldn't hold back the venom flowing into his mouth. Odd. He hadn't felt his thirst spike like this in more than half a century, not since the last time he had tasted human blood. He hadn't avoided people for this long before, maybe that had something to with it? Maybe that's why Alice had come to drag him out of the house? He'd have to build up his tolerance again.

Sighing, Edward held the door open for Alice and walked into the kitchen store. The air was even heavier inside. Edward clenched his jaw and moved to speak with the store clerk, whose thoughts were focused on the gifts she had yet to wrap for her four year old son. The happy thoughts of her family calmed him as he looked at her and smiled in greeting.

"Angela," he voiced her name, glancing down at her name tag. "We have a long list of items to purchase and we'd love it if they could all be shipped to our home in Alaska before the holiday, we understand there will be additional charges."

"I can help you with that, what do you need?"

Edward turned to Alice expectantly.

"One of everything from that wall" she pointed at the wall of utensils and tools to her left. "And one of these, a full set of those hammered copper pots and pans over there, 10 of each of the Reidel Vinum wine glasses, that wall mounted single-serve coffee/espresso/tea/hot chocolate maker thing, the stainless steel Kitchen Aid professional stand mixer, all of the attachments please….hmmm, what else? Oh. And that professional grade pot rack with the titanium hooks and clamps." Edward quirked his eyebrow at the last items on her list. _Don't make me draw you picture Edward._He grimaced at the vision of her and Jasper's 'dungeon' that flashed through her thoughts. Freaky little pixie.

The clerk, Angela was looking down at Alice with wide eyes, in awe at the amount of money the two seemingly young people in front of her were about to spend. Suddenly, her eyes darted to the front entrance as the bells on the door announced another visitor. At the same moment, Edward felt the world tilt on its axis, his carefully controlled façade crashing down around him, as the scent of this visitor, the brown haired girl from before, threatened to overwhelm him.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, his palms itched and his toes twitched with the urged to _take_ her, violently, passionately and then drain her dry. Alice looked up a him, alarmed, her thoughts screaming at him to stop breathing, and get himself under control. His eyes narrowed and he willed himself to stand absolutely still.

"Angela," the girl called without lifting her eyes from the bag she was fumbling with, "I brought you some of those awesome ginger snaps and cinnamon latte as a thanks for taking care of the store tomorrow night. I swear, if I don't stop eating these, my ass will be fucking huge by New Years." She looked up with a smile and met Edward's ferocious stare. Her brown eyes immediately opened wider and the smile slipped from her face.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt. I'll just set these over here for you Ang."

"Thanks Bella, actually I'm glad you're back. I'm going to need some help getting this order together," Angela called from behind Edward, her voice and thoughts sounding muffled as they registered somewhere in the back of his brain. He had yet to move, he eyes still locked intently on Bella's face, which was burning crimson with the blood that had rushed there in her embarrassment. Venom gushed into his mouth, and he gulped the burning liquid back, his body rolling in waves of lust and anticipation.

"Actually, if we could just have it all delivered to our home in Forks instead, we have to be going", Alice handed Angela a scrap of paper with her phone number and address on it and huge wad of cash.

_Edward, EDWARD! FUCK. We're leaving, NOW. Don't breath, look at me!_

Edward slowly registered Alice's thoughts and agonizingly turned his head to face her, his eyes wide with panic.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Alice grabbed his elbow and forcefully dragged him out of the store into the fresh outside air. They moved quickly, creating more distance between Edward and the perplexed looking girl with the wide brown eyes and the absolutely silent mind, his senses screaming in protest as her delicious scent became thinner and thinner, the further away they marched.


	3. Chapter 3

Blood. Everywhere. Pulsing around him in a disjointed and overwhelming rhythm. He could hear it beating in his ears and taste it on his tongue through the air. His want paralyzed him and rendered his thoughts static. Even the thoughts of the crowd pressing down the street were hushed. He was overwhelmed with conflicting demands to both flee and surrender at the same time. Either choice would be torture. _Just kill me, just take this choice away._ _It's too much._

Alice's grip around his waist as she forced him forward was almost imperceptible to him. He couldn't see beyond his own feet, visions of death, the girl's and his, filled his sight. He didn't even notice that they had completely left the city, barely even registered that Alice was forcing him onto his knees, didn't blink as she shoved his face into the furry carcass of a black bear. He couldn't even taste the warm blood of the beast as it slid down his throat like cool mud, smothering, but not extinguishing the flames there.

His fingers dug into the bear's flesh, squeezing it as if that would somehow force its dry veins to surrender more balm. In agony, he ground his hands deeper into its pulpy flesh; his mind began to clear, and the reality of his situation set in. He would never have enough. Nothing, _nothing,_ would ever extinguish the flames he felt lick his insides. He could never erase the thoughts of violence that surpassed in evil any of the sins he had previously committed.

Even if he surrendered to the pull of his desires and killed the girl, he would be haunted by the memory of her taste. It would drive him mad with a bloodlust that he would never be able to satisfy or ignore. It would destroy him, and the ones he loved. That was inevitable now, either way. He could try to run, but it would never work. He began formulating a plan that would prevent part of that from happening, his thoughts drifting to memories of Carlisle discussing his Italian acquaintances. _Better to end it now than destroy his family. They were all he had to live for anyway._

"Edward, there must be another choice_"_.

Alice's small voice filtered through his thoughts and he met her sorrowful gaze over the gory carcass in front of him. She knelt down, leveling her golden eyes level with his. Her mind rapidly flipped through several images: all of them featuring Edward with crimson eyes, one of them featuring those eyes set in his disembodied head, and one of them featuring the disembodied heads of his family members as well.

The images suddenly stopped. Edward saw himself, as he was right now, through her eyes. His eyes were glinting onyx orbs. His lips, garish red lines set in white stone. His clenched teeth, ivory, stained pink, and glistening with venom that bubbled with the force of his harsh breathing. Drops of dark blood dripped from the hand fisted in his scalp, staining his cheeks with gruesome tears.

He closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head, trying to erase the image, wishing he could just erase himself. He felt Alice's small hand pry his fingers from his matted and bloody hair and place his hand on his thigh with hers. He opened his eyes, looking down at where her thumb slid in circles over the back of his hand, smearing blood and dirt on her pristine skin.

"Edward, there is always another choice. I refuse to accept that you are doomed, that we are doomed. Please. There must be something."

"I'm not strong enough Alice."

Alice yanked her hand from his and stood over him, glaring.

"Then why am I still seeing this?!"

Edward sighed and fell back on his heels. He'd seen the vision before. It was him, standing in a sun washed meadow, surrounded by his family. Carlisle stood next to him, a Bible in one hand, two rings in the other, and expression of pure joy on all of their faces as they appeared to watch someone approach. A wedding. His wedding. In light of the night's events, it seemed ludicrous.

"It's just a memory of an outdated vision, Alice. It's not my future anymore. Look at me! Look at my future now! All that's left is death."

Alice, closed her eyes, and hung her head. Her voice was low when she spoke again.

"No, Edward, it's not a memory. It came to me tonight, again, new."

Edward snarled viciously, slamming his fists down onto the body of the slain animal at his knees.

"It's just your unconscious desires overwhelming your sense of reality. That future is not possible for me anymore. You've seen it! If I wasn't a monster before, I am now. I will be."

Alice turned around, her back facing him, and shook her head from side to side. Moonlight hit the side of her face and reflected onto the leather of her jacket, highlighting the sharp angle of her shoulders as she squared them.

"I've seen a lot of things Edward. Some have come to pass, and some haven't. All I know are the possibilities. And it's still possible for you to find peace in this existence. You just have to stop running from it."

Within seconds, she was gone, and Edward was alone again. The fire raged in his throat and the ice weighed heavy in his heart as he stood. The sounds of living were once again his only company, and he wanted to silence them all.


End file.
